Many of you know that Pizza is my middle name. On rare occasion I treat myself to a heavy Chicago-style deep dish pie. This is a great pizza place in Santee that caters perfectly to that very desire. Just picking up the box you immediately sense the heft of this weighty pie! One slice will easily suffice, but two if particularly hungry 😊

This week I tried L&L Hawaiian BBQ for the first time. There’s several in San Diego, I went to the one in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Here’s a BBQ chicken plate, served with rice and mac salad. I was disappointed that the mac salad was fairly warm. Wish it was served in a side container. It just winds up steaming in the hotbox with the chicken, rice, etc. This was a good and filling meal, consisting of three big BBQ chicken thighs basted with their tasty teriyaki glaze.

Sadly, Wendy no longer makes the Bacon & Blue burger on brioche. But the nice manager at our Ramona Wendy’s offered a heaping of blue cheese crumbles on my 1/4 lb Hot & Juicy (it was more hot than juicy)… Turned out great! I really like and appreciate the freshness of the lettuce, mater & onions at Wendy’s. Still my favorite fast food spot in town…

Had an outstanding meal at Mariscos Mar de Cortez this morning. I selected from the “American Style” breakfast menu. This part of the menu has eggs, various omelettes, and hotcakes with traditional sides. I ordered the Denver omelette. Filled with diced ham, cheese, small amount of onions and a few long strips of red bell pepper. This bad boy comes out huge! I appreciated that it was cooked perfectly. Not all overcooked, dry and brown. The omelettes are served with hashbrowns (decent) and toast for only $7.99. The toast was pretty uninspiring however. Basic white bread with some random dots of melted butter. My #1 recommendation for breakfast there remains the Chilaquiles. Just excellent. Also their Machaca plate is good, even if on the mild side.

Back to Nuevo Girl for one of my favorite happy hour appetizers. The hand made rolled tacos. Stubby, but chubby, they’re filled with a ton of lean carne asada. Always makes for an impressive pic too! 😂

This is a neat little place inside a kiosk, nestled in a Home Depot parking lot. Pretty tasty, but spendy tube steaks. This is the New Yorker. All beef Vienna frank topped with sauerkraut and Dijon mustard. It was excellent.

So, The Oaks Grill can put the “e” back in Grille! I’m pleased to report that the excellent hand-made calamari has returned. Served with a tasty, sweet Oriental chile sauce and classic, tangy cocktail sauce. Only $10 on the appetizer menu. Happy hour at the Par Lounge is a generous 4 hours (3p-7p), M-F. $2 off apps during HH brings this to $8; a good deal for a quality dish. Pairs well with a side of onion rings and draft IPA.